Be free to Worship God. Create with abandonement because He is the Creator. Let's discover our Dreams together.

Fluffy clouds, Warm sunshine. The children are napping or possibly in school. Maybe there are no children at home. Maybe you are at an age when as an empty nester, the house seems quieter and your time is more your own. A slight breeze is wafting through an open window. Your favorite beverage is sitting next to you on an uncluttered stand. The gentle aroma of a sweet cinnamon candle is slowly burning. Your computer is open or the blank sheet is laying bare, ready for the next fantastic creative notion to flow and ————

WHAT HAPPENED?

NOTHING!

That’s right. You look at your page or screen with a blank stare on your face. Picture one of these:

A scrunched nose with eyes staring into the sky looking for inspiration.

Pursed lips with eyes roaming back and forth as if searching the room for a clue.

The pen tapping on the empty page for a secret code you are trying to understand.

A cocked head leaning on a raised hand gazing past the windows, hoping a word will pop into your head getting the creation on a role.

Ah the life of a writer!

Why do we put ourselves through this type of endeavor over and over? Isn’t there an activity, a pastime to keep us occupied which would be less agonizing, frustrating?

Possibly.

As a writer, there is something inside which says we are to at least try to put pen to paper, tap words on the screen. It is our duty. An inner calling. We must express.

Does agony rise up when all is prepared and there is absolutely nothing inside to flow. An emotional trauma has sideswiped the words right out of you. Can there be other unknown reasons your regular word stream has met a dam?

You have crashed and burned with nothing coming out.

Can you still celebrate when you can’t write?

This is the time to be part of a writer’s small group. I belong to two. One is a small group at our church called the :

There is a difference between only reading about a situation and being surrounded by people with a similar vision wanting to help me succeed. The main goal in the two group I belong to is to create and help each other use the gifts God has put inside us.

Even though both groups have a different approach, if there are problems and the words for creating will not come, the doors to the inner barrier are gently met, with support and encouragement and if wanted, prayer.

Can you celebrate in who you are even when no words come to the surface?

No words are coming! I claim to be a writer! If I cannot write, who am I?

As a Type 4 in the Enneagram, I am given to a wide range of emotions. Can I celebrate who I am as a Child of God when words are not coming to the surface? Type 4’s have a Primary fear of being unnoticed.2 If the words do not flow, or the outcome does not reach an expected bar, can I still celebrate in who I am? If I have nothing to write, what will I have to post? If I don’t post, how will I get read? If I don’t get read, I will be unnoticed. A vicious cycle.

To add to the emotional battle there can be SHAME. As a Christian writer, there seems to be this idea stating :

I have to have it all together. I am the author people are reading and looking to for guidance.

If there are no words, there must be something wrong with me. I am not doing what I am suppose to, but who can I tell? 😦

Writing is truly a community effort. If these little lies, (yes, the previous statements are lies) make so much noise yelling at how bad a writer I am, I also hear the words ” you are a bad person”. I am surrounded by friends who know me I have been really honest in my fear. I am secure enough to share my dreams. They in turn are authentic with support and guidance and prayer in my time of uncertainty. It is the care I need keep me going in a healthy manner.

These are the words I hear and can celebrate:

You are a Child of God- He made you a Creator.

You are a Child of God- He made up a Writer.

You are a Child of God.

Can you celebrate in you when you cannot write?

Reading and researching gives helpful tools on this journey. Realizing experienced authors go through the same pain and frustration you are going through. It can help you feel less isolated in your battle. (here is a list of my personal favorite right now: Emily Freeman, Luci Shaw, Ann Voskamp, Madeliene L’Engle and Anne Lamott).

Do not make your writing a Lone Ranger affair. There are many personal ways of support to help you celebrate in you when you can’t find the words.

This blog is meant as one of those places. I would like you to feel this is a place for you to share thoughts, dreams and hopes for your creating. I do not have all the answer, but I can encourage you to follow your dreams as I am following mine.

Chaos bounces from place to place , with no respecter of persons as it destroys and takes it’s victims. How can one celebrate? Does creativity truly and honestly reflect hope when surrounded in a shroud of hopelessness?

If you create with paint or in clay, how would you express the scene from this book in Nehemiah from the Old Testament?

The Law of Moses had just been read by Ezra the High Priest to the Israelite people. The Temple wall was was rebuilt. It was a joyful time of celebration. New Beginnings. The Jewish people were in exile for 70 years. No physical or spiritual connection to God. Their temple was destroyed. They felt abandoned. They painfully knew previous choices from their ancestors caused there own abandonment.

Finally, a long awaited physical connection of the reconstructed wall was completed. A spiritual connection was attempted in reading the Sacred Texts. The initial response was not filled with joy.

How could they rejoice? So many laws to keep and they felt so weak. Depression, despair and dejection covered them like a blanket, questioning how to respond.

Nehemiah (the governor) and Ezra would have none of this. They heard the same words but their hearts received something far different. God was not giving His people simply a set of mere rules to follow. These were tools to create a connection for building intimacy. This intimacy would go from people to people and from His people and Himself.

Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10

12 Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them. (NIV)

Nehemiah and Ezra knew, this people would never be able to accomplish the requirements on their own. That did not stop Nehemiah from going forward. He commanded this day to be one of celebration. Was the governor being heartless, uncaring? No! Nehemiah stated truth:

“Do not grieve for

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH”.

As the Jews embraced the reality of their freedom from the burden of carrying the law on their shoulders, they received joy. They understood it was not in themselves where their strength was found but in the strength of the Creator of the Universe and His Joy over them.

Read verse 12 again to understand why they were able to have joy and to celebrate after hearing the Law.

12 Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.

Celebration does not always come easily. The discipline of celebration is not always going out participating in a big party. Celebration is hard work at times. Celebration may be an inner discovery instead of an outer activity. Life does not always hand you a bowlful of cherries to enjoy. What happens if while eating the cherries, you come across a pit? How do you respond? Celebrate and Dance

“ How can a person be joyful in a pain-filled world..”

This became an honest question for a fellow creative. She suffered a hairline fracture in her wrist which caused not only extreme physical pain, but also emotional chaos. It was a time when she was stepping into a season of creative classes and personal growth. Suddenly the tiny super ball of chaos started zinging back and forth in her life. Celebration and Worship! HOW? Just as the Jews questioned Nehemiah when the LAW was read to them, my friend had the same questions when this happened to her wrist?

How did my friend cope?

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH!

As my friend went to God with her pain, she said “Yes” to worship. The “Yes” to worship allowed her to receive the Joy of the Lord to be her strength.

The result was worship and celebration in this beautiful painting..

“Worshiping with art seriously is therapy for pain-physically or pain of the soul”¹

Come Celebrate and dance. To celebrate causes you to take a step beyond where you might be and engage deeper into where you can be. The strength of Creator of the Universe and His Joy over you is your strength.

Are you experiencing a physical or emotional burden?

Are you willing to take a chance to celebrate and dance?

Did you see artwork from the story in Nehemiah as a people finding it easy or difficult to worship?

Can you take the time to create their fear or express their joy?

Where do you go for strength in your time of pain?

Who is your strength?

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment line concerning your journey. We are all on this path together.

BE

FREE

TO

WORSHIP

AS

YOU

WERE

CREATED!

¹Quote from my friend concerning what God is doing in her through worship and creativity.

Ecclesiastes 11:5

The Message (MSG)

5 Just as you’ll never understand the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman

So you’ll never understand the mystery at work in all that God does.

Today, there are many scientific breakthroughs making this mystery a bit less mysterious. Cell discovery and genetics give information that were beyond an unheard concept to the writer of Ecclesiastes. Even so, with the knowledge we presently have, the depth, the reality of a living child growing inside of her mother carries a living mystery.

Does it seem frustrating or daunting to think you will

never understand the mystery at work that God does?

—Why even try ?

I have better things to think about. (BE CONCERNED WITH!)

My Job

My Children

My Spouse

My Health

If you are a creative person, your mind is filled with tantalizing dreams inside just waiting to be released. You are excited. Or are you hounded with deadlines? Either way, realistically, how can you give yourself time and space, to engage in an activity that may not further your DOING?

The Creator of the Universe is God so it is impossible to understand all that He is.

RIGHT!

The truth is, The Creator, God reaches out His hand to you to join Him in the dance of life. Do you as a creative artist take time to be fed? Even when your posts do not have a Christian based theme Dallas Willard expresses you have a need. Your soul requires nourishment.

Your soul is the very center of your being. To thrive, you need to engage in the center of life which is God. How can you do this among all your other activities?

You can engage in the wonderful mystery, as you;

Choose to slow down,

Trust

Walk the path God has chosen,

Become present in the person God calls you to be.

7-8aOh, how sweet the light of day, And how wonderful to live in the sunshine! Even if you live a long time, don’t take a single day for granted. Take delight in each light-filled hour. Ecclesiastes 11 MSG

But He says come join in the dance!

Celebration, Meditation, Solitude.

These are just a few of the many disciplines to join in the dance. I am presently on a journey to discover how the Discipline of Celebration is expanding my intimacy with God. Discovering how God is breaking the chains and setting me free will be at the heart of the posts because that is my heart for you.

Join me in the dance. How are you being set free? I have a Facebook Page you are welcome to join for questions and comments as well. You can leave a comment or question here if you want.

Today, I welcome you into an incredible portion of my life story. I hope in reading it, you allow God into past areas of your life where somehow you got “stuck”. Our God loves to redeem past pain. He loves to set His children free.

The announcement came for one of the most loved contests –The DANCE OFF! My whole being said, “YES I am doing this.” Since, only four people would be able to participate, I dashed past the ladies in my row, ran toward the stage and bound up the stairs.. Thankfully no one was in my way and I did not trip. My friends were thoroughly surprised by my wild gallop. This was a bit beyond even my fun character. “What is Sandi doing?”

I made the number four count, but I also felt there might be more to this for me than just the Dance Off contest.

When it was my turn for introductions, I said in a bold and cocky manner, “My name is Sandi, and I am from here”, as I pointed my forefinger proudly to the stage indicating I was from the Duluth Vineyard.

Brenda started giving instructions as to where we were to dance on the stage and for how long. At this point, I began to warm up looking as though I meant business. Doing stretches, twists, bends, toe touching, etc. I was totally into the part.

The very active modern music began. The first women were fantastic. Everyone was clapping and moving in time to the beat. My turn came. DANCING QUEEN! I moved and grooved It was very unlike what was expected from me. (my pore abs hurt the next day) . It was wonderful though. The freedom I experienced was a gift of joy and celebration.

No inhibitions. No fear of what other people thought.

This was just the beginning.

Remember when I said God might take you to a past hurt and release a place where you got stuck. That is exactly what my happened with this dance contest.

When we began the next part of worship ( the vocal worship) after the contests were over, I became overwhelmed by something inside my soul. I started to weep. God brought to my mind the little girl who was reprimanded for dancing.. This little girl was dancing, bouncing around while family movies were being taken. The words that were said left a bitter, lasting effect, “You are just trying to draw attention to yourself, Quit showing off”. My small heart took on a meaning:

“Is it bad to express what is inside? Is spontaneous creative expression wrong? Showing off is bad?’

My vocal worship, creative writing, and photographic expression were eventually placed under a microscope glass in fear I would be judged of wrong motives.

During the evening of the conference, different words were spoken over me by my loving Father God -“You no longer wear that label, Sandi. That is not how I see you. You are free.”

WHAT DELIVERANCE!

The little girl covered with a blanket of shame for freely dancing was set free when I said “Yes” to freely dance with joy. My Loving Father celebrated with me.

Are there areas in your creative life that are stuck because a word spoken over you damaged your Joy? Did an unintended word placed on a soft heart plant a weed? Has that weed been trying to choke the truly beautiful expression of life God put inside of you?

It’s never too late to dance in the freedom God has waiting for you. I am 60+ years old. God choose to use this conference at this time to allow me to dance enthusiastically to receive a deep healing I so desperately needed. You cannot have a hidden pain or shame so deep that God cannot not touch it. I walked in this lie since I was 6 years old or so. It affected how I lived worshiped and created.

Jeremiah 29: 10-11 The Message (MSG)

10-11 This is God’s Word on the subject: “As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

Many times we read Jeremiah 29 verse 11 because we need to know God has our back. The truth is, we need to read 10 as well to know God sees our deepest need and will never leave a child unloved or incomplete.

Celebrate

Take some quiet time for just God and you.

Be brave and ask yourself some hard questions such as :

What keeps me from creating from the truest fashion.?

Do I feel really free when I am expressing and creating or is there a slight barrier?

Do I blame someone else for my lack of true freedom?

Am I willing to trust God to go deeper to express His real Love and Joy?

As part of the Freedom To Create series, I would like you to journal and see what determines your lens on how you see God and your freedom to create.

11 Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,
all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
I’m on the right way. Psalm 16 MSG

Jpeg

BE

FREE

TO

WORSHIP

AS

YOU

WERE

CREATED!

During your discoveries if there is something God gave to you, it might be a nugget we would all benefit from. Consider sharing in the comment space.

I put these next queries to free your inner being so you can create from a deeper level. They are not to be taken lightly. Do not answer them quickly. Allow yourself time for each question and write your answers down.

Who are you creating for? (Maybe the proper grammar should be: for whom are you creating?)

What are you creating for?

Did God put a cause on your heart at one time but you did not know how creativity and art could connect? Do you go to an article concerning that cause if it comes in the paper? i.e trafficking, ecology, pain,.

Is justice for a certain group of people crying out to be heard, but you wonder if you can express what you feel through art? You want to be challenging but not do you need to sound angry? i.e.senior citizens, abused children, racism.

You know God calls us to serve, but creating is your passion. Are they opposites?

Do you spend time in God’s presence? Do you seek His heart for the inspiration to create? Do you listen as He calls you to create? Is there obedience to His voice in life and art?

As artists, we draw out truth, we live truth. That is where we have the freedom to create. As artists with a relationship with Jesus, we are able to not only have an honest, intimate connection with Jesus; we can express that relationship through our art in truth. We are also called to serve. We are able to take this reality to a world defined by another signature. The world needs to know a deeper truth. Art that touches the soul, and is lived out by the artist speaks volumes.

This will not come automatically.

Knowing who you are IN HIM will bring you a freedom to create.

Developing the creativity He has called you into will bring you a freedom to create.

Living in a community that loves supports and pursues the Heart of God can bring you freedom to create.

Don’t be afraid of rejection or what is happening in the world. This may open a door to your freedom to create.

April is National Poetry Month. Here are a couple of links to challenge your FREEDOM. Until recently, I would not have tried my hand at poetry. I realized even if the work is not published, this type of word construction in its various forms is a fantastic way to free your mind. You are able to express anything concerning everything. —–

You are welcome to share your challenges if you wish or your thoughts on how creativity/art can positively affect bringing the reality of Jesus to a world in turmoil.If is is happening in your town, your suggestions may help another reader. Thanks.

I was in the middle of creating a wonderful post. Great references to a new podcast artist I discovered. There was information containing deep mighty meat to help free you to worship as you were created.

The writing for the post was smooth. The content was inviting. Tragedy to a computer creator occurred: Not only did the writing for the post become a ghost in cyber space, so did the notes from the writer’s group concerning this artist, the poem and his podcast. :(.

Stepping up to the plate, I shook off the frustration and continued. I determined not to allow the pain of the circumstances to write my story. Instead, I am rewriting the story with the tools I have been given. March ON

The challenge of each podcast I have listen to dares you to create with the gifts God has has you. Are you willing to take your creativity and yourself to a deeper level?

The artist, the creative has a dual calling upon her life. One is to live a life with a view through God’s lens, so she can be willing tosee the world through His heart.

The other calling is to create through God’s lens. This may not always mean the picture is pretty but to look through the eyes of Jesus, is to see Victory. This is not a wimpy, limpy, no contact Jesus who has never experienced hardships.

This is the Beaten Unmercifully,

Arm Outstretched, Hands Nailed to the Cross,

In Love for You and Me

but

Three days later Victoriously RISES FROM THE DEAD

JESUS!

With this thought in mind I challenge you to DARE TO CREATE!

Dream past the experience of pain.

Appreciate that God calls you to feel what He feels.

Rare Gift. Humbly take this rare gift and

Express!! Once you walk in the very Heart of God, You cannot keep it inside.

D

A

R

E

To CREATE!

The person who hears this call will allow God to wash away everything keeping her from hearing His voice. The artist who has this calling deep inside will not allow the cares of this world to blind side her from seeing who she is in God’s love. No better and no worse than any other person.

The writer, painter, photographer, creative, will work on her skills to enhance her craft. She does not become sloppy in her field. Her craft is always calling out to the next improvement. She needs to keep from being sucked into the newest craze and media prompt, but also keeps her muscles from becoming limp and out of touch with the world.

Why keep in touch?

The world needs to receive what God has to offer. He has given wonderful Gifts to His children. He is the Gift to Share!

After you read Matthew 25 :14-28, think about your craft. Do you, can you put your creative gift in this scripture? How are you tending what God has given to you?

Dare to create and

BE

FREE

TO

WORSHIP

AS

YOU

WERE

CREATED!

Engage in the discussion with comments how you feel God is calling you to a deeper level of co-creating with Him as He calls you to live and share the gifts He has given you.

Reading books by noted authors depicting their challenges (emotional and physical ) may cause you to second guess if being creative is actually what you want to sink your teeth into. The encouragement you were looking for, the kudos, the high fives to satisfy an unmet need might be smacked with their own angst describing their own stress while trying to complete a project.

A short book “THE WRITING LIFE”by Annie Dillard is a great read describing the normal non glorious life in the actual procedure of being a writer. To accomplish your literary art you need to do two things.-

Sit Down.

Put words on the screen or the paper.

Does that sound very exciting? What if the words do not come? What if the line of words you put down one minute look horrible the next and you wasted half of an hour of your time? (the dishes are calling to be washed).

You have been called to express. It is part of your inner being. If the life you live has also said “Yes” to Jesus, you have said yes to bringing His Kingdom to earth as it is in Heaven. Your calling is to Create for the Kingdom.

You NEED to create ( I am not limiting this to writing. Put whatever God is calling to you to do)

These quotes from Annie’s book can apply to all creatives.

“’One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it lose it all, right away, every time.’ 1

‘The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now.’ 2

‘Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you.’” 3

What is creativity to you?

Is it putting words on paper? Any student in a sophomore English class can do that to pass a class. Taking pictures with a point and shoot camera? All the aunts coming to the summer reunion can do the same thing. A creative has a deep desire to take a rough path expressing life through words, will embark on an artistic adventure with the canvas, will see through a lens and express what they see with their souls.

Creativity is worship.

The two book, I mentioned in my last post, The Creative Call by Janice Elsheimer and a million little ways by Emily p. Freeman have been great helps in freeing my creative thinking process. I am going to propose to you a statement simultaneously approached in both books. This statement does not deal with a certain technique or style. It does not give you tips on building your platform. This connects you and your creativity.

In the comment line below, feel free to finish this statement:

The words that reflect how I feel in/when creating are:

Be as candid as you wish. If you are honest, the response may surprise you.

Worshipful (Taking the beauty I receive both easy or harsh. I make a tangible sacrifice of praise.)

Full of wonder!

Fearful (Am I really supposed to be doing this?)

Guilty (This is not really serving.)

Not good enough. Not bringing in money –( Comparing my work to others so the time and money I spend is really a waste.)

With thoughts such as these, no wonder the full creative flow of many people is being hindered.

In the artists, when the the burning fire of creativity is hindered by frostiness of negative emotions, nothing can flow.

Where are you in your creative process? As you have allowed the reality of creativity to be come alive within you, do you see God taking you on a path of deeper freedom? Not “only to make, but also to create”

To be an artist is a challenge.

Allow God to gently pull back the carpet in areas He wants to bring healing. The feelings of guilt, comparison, not good enough, and even “this is a waste of time and money” may be a result of how you feel about yourself. Does God want to set you free concerning deeper issues?

Take time ,#goslow. What is God doing to make you become more the creative He intended for you in the first place? Annie Dillard states that sadly we can limit the freedom God wants to express through us.

Engage in what God is doing in you!

The artist, writer, creative He has called you to be has a purpose in His Kingdom. The more we are free of the junk clogging our pipes, we are able to receive and flow with joy in the gifts God gave to us.

10 “All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the Lord has commanded.

Exodus 35: 10 NIV

Be

Free

To

Worship

As

You

Were

Created!

Two extra thoughts to ponder

Are you limiting yourself in creating with total abandonment because of inner fears i.e. rejection, comparison, or past family comments?

Do you keep from completing projects for the same reasons or have you just lost your dream?

Feel free to leave your thoughts on this subject. We are all this road to discover and release our creativity together.